God is in the small things...

Hello from sunny Florida!

I need to be cautious about how indulgent I get about our weather down here... It was really hard for me to read other people's blogs about traveling when Evie's health was so unstable and we couldn't get more than 15 minutes away from Children's Hospital! I'll keep it short: hot, sunny, clear skies, ocean waves. That about sums it up!

We have had the most marvelous trip... it's almost ridiculous how amazingly well everything has gone so far. Like I said, God is in the small things, and he has definitely taken care of us this past week! I know some of you out there are praying for us, and I have felt surrounded by God's calming presence more than once... and with 2 kids under the age of four that isn't easy!

We decided to fly straight to Tampa and drive down to my grandparents house this year, since Tampa is a direct flight and I was a little nervous flying with battery powered oxygen. We had no disasters, no delay, no spills, no huge messes, barely any tears, and the girls were completely content the whole way! Besides the security guard drug-swabbing Evie's casts (who thinks of that!?) we went straight through security. Evie slept and Lyla narrated our flight to the amusement of everyone around us "Are we flying yet?" she would say, "is it bumpy like the ground or smooth like the sky?" I would ask her, then she would know if we were flying (:

After our flight we were driving down the coast with the Gulf of Mexico in clear sight and Lyla said "guys, I think maybe we should just stay here..." Good thinking Lyla!!! Yesterday we were driving in my grandpa's fancy car, and she said "mom, I really like your new car better than your old green one" ha ha (: She has good taste! It's funny how the mind of a kid works when you put them in a completely different setting (:

Evie is doing great. I know I constantly say that she is the most content child on the planet, but I don't think you understand it until you spend some time with her. My grandparents keep commenting on how happy she is, and they are right. Some people learn to enjoy life at such an early age, the rest of us should take note. The big things become little things when you face mountains like she has (: My one prayer request is that her right cast holds up. Her foot has scooted up about an inch inside her cast, which means her food isn't positioned correctly. The plaster of the knee and ankle have gone soft from her banging her feet on the ground and crawling, so let's just pray that her foot slides back down and stays there!

I was working out at a little gym this afternoon and starting talking with a gal there (yes, I am the annoying person at the gym who bothers everyone who wants to listen to their music and be left alone!) and of course Evie came up. We both teared up a little when she told me that her daughter's son had been mis-diagnosed in utero with Down Syndrome and we talked about how tough that is in a pregnancy. So I gave her my blog address and have been nearly in tears ever since... just considering God's grace in the fact that I even have a blog to continue to write 18 months after we thought Evie's story was nearly over.

Oh yes! and Brian is continuing to work on our story... it sounds like he has some big plans in the works. I am genuinely thankful for his hours of hard work and am praying that God blesses him in a big way. I am not going to elaborate until things are signed, sealed, and delivered, but I am thankful for him even if things fall through (: I always wonder what the article would be called from a "miracle" standpoint, a "medical" standpoint, a "hug your babies" standpoint, an "i love my kids" standpoint... good thing I'm not writing it! I think my story would be called "my life under construction: tears, prayers, laughter, doctors, blessings, life lessons and God's grace."... doesn't sound very professional does it!

Love you friends! Thanks for checking in! Here are a few pictures from my phone, I will download the rest from my camera when we get home.

Lyla swimming "all by my own self!"

the girls hanging out before some family came over for dinner

sand and sun!